Riot police, backed by helicopter, water cannon and supported by the fire department, conducted the operation.

Earlier in March, two Turkish police officers were injured in a gun-and-grenade attack in the city’s Bayrampasa district. Two female assailants, both said to be members of the terrorist DHKP-C, were later "neutralized" in a follow-up operation.

The DHKP-C is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

The group has carried out a number of attacks in Turkey, including a suicide bombing on the 2013 U.S. embassy in Ankara and an attack targeting the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul last year.